Battle of Alberta Resumes: Edmonton's Playoff Hopes Fizzle with Flames Win

In one of the best, most meaningful provincial scuffles in recent memory the Calgary Flames eliminated the rival Edmonton Oilers from post-season contention with a 3-2 win at Rexall Place.

No, this isn’t an April Fool’s Day trick.

A fantastic episode of the Battle of Alberta saw two desperate teams play determined hockey as each side fought to remain in the playoff hunt. For the Flames, the win renews slight hope for a chance at the Northwest Division title, sitting three points behind the current leader Minnesota Wild after tonight‘s victory.

Both teams played admirably throughout. Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff appeared in his 75^th start of the year to break his own franchise record of seventy-four starts. The patient Finn would make several key saves to keep his team in the game and hold on for the important win. Outshot in the game 30-17, the Flames are now 6-2 in the eight games in which they were held under twenty shots this season.

Edmonton showed the initial jump as Jarret Stoll had an early chance on the Calgary net. The Flames would return the favour with offensive pressure of their own from the skilled hands of Matthew Lombardi, Kristian Huselius and Alex Tanguay. Showing great intensity, the teams would go end-to-end for almost four straight minutes before the first whistle of the game stopped play when Stephane Yelle stepped offside on a delayed rush.

Seconds later good Calgary pressure would draw an Edmonton penalty when Stoll was called for hooking. The Flames would turn the intensity up a notch for the man advantage, and felt a second penalty should have been called as Jarome Iginla was taken down as he drove to the net with a scoring chance. Unable to take the early lead, the visitors showed promise while the Oilers kept defensively even by keeping the puck to the outside.

Halfway through the first period Edmonton would storm the net. Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Denis Grebeshkov and Fernando Pisani all accosted Kiprusoff with a barrage of pucks. Moving the play out of danger, the Flames would find themselves the victims of Edmonton’s youthful transitional play when former Columbus Blue Jacket Curtis Glencross sent the puck through Kipper’s legs on a returning rush to take a 1-0 Edmonton lead at 10:22.

Immediately following the ensuing centre-ice face-off, Dion Phaneuf and Jarome Iginla would attempt to regain control by playing aggressive hockey. Players from both benches would find ways to “make an impact” as Calgary pressed for the equalising marker. First, David Moss was drilled by Oil-slick Ladislav Smid, while seconds later Jim Vandermeer got one back by rubbing Glencross out on the boards. For the second time at least, Pouliot gave Kiprusoff a clip that went unnoticed by the officials. Unwilling to lay down for the second time this week, the Flames fought hard and would find the tying power-play goal at 14:22 of the opening frame.

After almost a minute of steady power-play work, Adrian Aucoin would send a snap-shot past Dwayne Roloson. Pinching in on the play, the veteran defenseman received a crisp pass from Owen Nolan. The rubber disc was initially flying wide of the target until it deflected off Oil defender Denis Grebeshkov and into the net to knot the game at one-all.

The Calgary squad seemed to visibly improve their effort following the Aucoin tally. Although Phaneuf would take a late first-period penalty that continued into the second, the Flames would take momentum into the middle frame. Starting off on a penalty-kill, Calgary effectively shut down the Edmonton special team unit, utilising smart stick work to break the play before sending Lombardi on a fruitless short-handed attack.

Again the play went back and forth, although the Oilers had the edge in shots and scoring chances. Shift after shift they found opportunities. Fernando Pisani rang the post behind Kiprusoff; later, Glencross would drive the net only to be redirected away from danger by Jim Vandermeer. The only stanza in which Calgary outshot the locals, the second would give stage to Alex Tanguay’s first goal in nine outings and a 2-1 Calgary lead.

Taking advantage of a late period power-play, the Flames bore down on the Oiler net ripping shot after shot at Roloson. Cheating slightly, the Edmonton goalie took himself out of position, at which point Tanguay whistled a bad-angle shot which deflected off of Roloson and into the net. With just 2.1 seconds left in the middle frame, the Flames had a 2-1 advantage.

As the final period began it was obvious that the Oilers were not ready to give up the ghost without a fight. Again the action went end-to-end. Kiprusoff was forced to make an early stop on Marty Reasoner to maintain the lead; the Calgary netminder would be peppered with pucks all night only to stump the competition with his trademark agility.

The Flames would find chances too as Iginla would send a shot high over an open net for the second time in the contest. Still looking for his 50^th tally, the captain kept a low profile throughout the tilt, though he was nearly given credit for Tanguay’s second period goal. As the pressure mounted and desperation grew, Edmonton netminder Roloson was forced to make a remarkable move to give his team a shot at the win. Looking to pad the score, Calgary youth Dustin Boyd found himself with a rebounding puck and an open net following a Dion Phaneuf assault on the net. Roloson went into a full leg-split to make the desperation stop and keep the score 2-1 with slick lateral movement.

Curtis Glencross would even the score at 13:17, when prolonged Edmonton harassment and a single defensive lapse led to a temporary shift in momentum. Streaking in on a breakaway, Glencross slipped behind the checking Phaneuf and was able to manoeuvre in on the goalie. Moments earlier Kiprusoff had completed a superb diving save on Marty Reasoner, who saw an open net and scoring chance disappear in front of his eyes.

The team-mates skating in front of Kipper would refuse to allow his heroics to be wasted, and they fought through the setback.

The Oilers would spend the last twenty minutes outshooting Calgary 17-4; amazingly, the Flames found a winner within that handful of shots. The Flames began defending against Edmonton’s off-the-rush style, diffusing transitional plays by clogging up the centre of the playing surface. Tied at two with less than five minutes left in the game, Calgary would need more than defence (and one might have thought more than four shots!) to pull off the win.

Having already delivered his best performance of late, Calgary leader Owen Nolan would score his first goal in twenty-one games to give the Flames the eventual game-winner. By now the norm, each team had been applying intense pressure at both ends of the ice and the atmosphere was charged as it seemed either side might grind out the victory. At 16:16 of the final frame, Nolan would all but end Edmonton’s 2008 playoff dreams when he angled a Dion Phaneuf rebound into the Oiler goal to take a 3-2 Calgary lead.

With little time left to salvage their down-and-up season, Edmonton would throw everything in its arsenal at the Flames over the final two minutes. Stoll, Glencross, Dustin Penner, Andrew Cogliano and Kyle Brodziak pressed over the last minute as Roloson left the net for an extra attacker. Able to keep the puck out of danger, the last few seconds wound down with the Flames smothering the puck in the Edmonton zone. Final score: 3-2 Calgary.

A classic hockey match-up, tonight’s game was hard-fought between two of this game’s fiercest rivals. Although the game did not get overly “chippy”, the game was battled tooth-and-nail as each club knew post-season hopes relied entirely on the outcome of this last game. Edmonton depended on the kid-line of Andrew Cogliano, Sam Gagner and Robert Nilsson, as well as riding goalie Dwayne Roloson after starting backstop Mathieu Garon was injured earlier this year. Regardless of their various recent underdog wins, the Edmonton squad was not built for an NHL post-season campaign this year.

Officially excluded from the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Oilers spent most of this season at the bottom of the Western Conference before pulling themselves back up over the past month and a half. In their last eighteen games they have a 13-4-1 record. Last year their record over their last twenty games was 2-17-1. The Central Albertans may find positives from their recent efforts, but the fact remains that this club has now missed the post-season twice after playing in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006. Endowed with a youthful squad, Edmonton lost many veteran/character players in the recent past and must now look at rebuilding before they will find any level of consistency at an elite level of competition. They can rest assured by the fact that skill resides in their young players, but the team must be disciplined if they want to develop them into well-rounded, grade-A talent. For now they can channel the disappointment in an attempt at a spoiler game when the Oilers meet the Canucks in Edmonton’s season finale at GM Place on Thursday.

Calgary, of course, has much more to look forward to. They face two final regular season games in Minnesota and Vancouver before the Western Conference can be sure where everyone is seeded for the playoffs. Still largely masters of their own destiny, the Flames will want the highest possible standing heading into the post-season, as they will likely wish to avoid playing the Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks or San Jose Sharks in the first round. They will need some co-operation from other Western teams for the numbers to align in their favour, and if the Flames can shake their recent on-ice issues they could be a treacherous team to face in a seven game series. As the closing road-trip winds down the 2007-08 regular season, watch to see how the Flames respond to the pressure-cooker that is the Northwest Division/Western Conference race.

NOTES: ** Before tonight’s game Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish was complaining to the media that he believes Robyn Regehr is using “illegal” techniques when physically routing the Oilers, especially Ales Hemsky. A ridiculous accusation, Regehr may be a physical force to be reckoned with, he generally plays a very clean game. If teams can’t compete with that type of play, it doesn’t make it “illegal”

** Only six penalties called between the two teams (three each) in what can often be a vicious rivalry

** Craig Conroy was out of the lineup with a torso injury sustained Sunday in Vancouver

** Owen Nolan would record a goal and an assist, while Matthew Lombardi and Dion Phaneuf recorded two assists each for the Flames. Curtis Glencross would score two goals for the Oilers

** Fernando Pisani hit the post behind Kiprusoff early in the second period

** The Edmonton/Calgary season series ends in a 4-4 tie. It is the first time in at least four years that the Flames did not win the eight-game series.

** Shots in the first period were low, 6-4 EDM. Flames held the edge in face-offs and takeaways, while Edmonton led in blocked shots. The Oilers allowed a lot of giveaways, 15-6. Hits were even: 16-16.

** Only four Flames were credited with more than one shot on goal for the night. Iginla and Vandermeer shot three each, while Cory Sarich and Owen Nolan ripped two apiece.

** Edmonton defender Joni Pitkanen returned to the lineup following a groin injury suffered in Saturday’s match vs Calgary.  He led the game in minutes with 27:11 and fired four shots on-net.

** The Nashville Predators beat the St. Louis Blues in overtime tonight to stay alive in the race. Had the Predators lost that game, the Flames would already be a mathematical lock as a playoff seed. Elsewhere, the Colorado Avalanche beat the Vancouver Canucks as the Avs edge close to the top of the Division and the Canucks slide perilously close to falling off the edge and out of contention.

** Daymond Langkow returned to the Calgary lineup after missing Sunday's game due to a death in the family. He played well enough, but gave the puck away in a dangerous position when he tried to find Jarome Iginla up at the other blue-line with a long lead pass. The play was broken up and brought back to the Flames end.

** Matthew Lombardi played another impact game as he continues to improve as an all-around player.